First Thing: UN finds ‘convincing information’ that Hamas raped and tortured Israeli hostages

Interviews with released hostages suggest abuses are continuing in Gaza, a UN report says. Plus, Trump all but certain of Republican nomination on Super Tuesday

Good morning.

The UN’s special envoy on sexual violence in conflict has said there is “clear and convincing information” that some of the women and children held hostage by Hamas had been subjected to rape and sexualised torture.

There were reasonable grounds to believe these abuses were ongoing, its report said. The special envoy, Pramila Patten, also reported that there were reasonable grounds to believe sexual assaults, including rape and gang-rape, took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks in at least three locations.

Patten cautioned that there were limitations regarding 7 October, as the team had not managed to interview survivors of sexual violence during the attacks. The UN team was, however, able to interview released hostages, speak to multiple witnesses and review masses of video footage and pictures.

Why didn’t they speak to sexual violence survivors of the 7 October attacks? Patten said some were undergoing trauma therapy, others had relocated and some first-responder witnesses had been deployed in the army.

What about allegations of sexual assault of Palestinians in Israeli detention camps? There were allegations of assault, including invasive body searches, according to the report, though none of rape.

Trump all but certain of Republican nomination as 16 states vote

Donald Trump’s victory as the Republican nominee appears certain to be confirmed as 16 states and one territory hold primaries on a Super Tuesday that offers little suspense – at least at the top of the ballot.

With just one primary win so far in Washington DC, the odds are stacked against Nikki Haley. In another boon to the former president, the US supreme court on Monday ruled unanimously that Colorado judges were wrong to decide that Trump should be excluded from the ballot because of the January 6 insurrection.

President Joe Biden also appears a all but certain to gain the nomination. His team is likely more worried by turnout and protest vote counts than by his rivals, Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips – polling at rock bottom – and self-help author Marianne Williamson, who has dropped out once before only to “unsuspend” her campaign.

Why is Biden facing protest votes? The Democratic Socialists of America have backed a campaign for Super Tuesday voters to pick “uncommitted” in order to express their anger over the White House’s support for Israel. In Michigan last week, more than 100,000 voted uncommitted.

Ukraine presses EU to allow extradition of war criminals

Ukraine is asking up to 10 EU member states to permit criminals to be extradited in order to face justice in the country.

Ukrainian courts have issued some 700 extradition orders since the war started, Andriy Kostin, the prosecutor general of Ukraine, said. He will tell EU justice ministers on Tuesday that Ukraine has addressed concerns regarding security and conditions for prisoners awaiting trial amid the war.

Ukraine is demanding, among others, the extradition of the founder of a neo-Nazi operation linked to the Wagner group that is accused of involvement in terrorism. He later entered Finland under an alias.

Which countries are resisting? Kostin declined to name the states but it is known that nations including France, Austria and Finland recently refused to send suspects back.

What’s the latest in the war? Ukraine claims to have sunk a Russian warship near the Kerch strait in occupied Crimea.

In other news …

Police are offering a $20,000 reward for information on a shooting that killed at least four on Sunday evening at a birthday party in King City, California. At about 6pm, a group of masked men pulled up in a silver car and fired at the group, hitting 11 people.

Women and girls in Gaza are suffering from a lack of sanitary products, with an average of just one toilet per 486 people in UNWRA shelters. On top of a number of humanitarian crises, the war has brought an additional monthly challenge for women without access to toilets or sanitary products.

Colorado will tighten its regulation of funeral homes after 190 bodies were found decaying in last year in a building in Penrose. The legislation would introduce Colorado’s first licensing requirements to become a funeral home director, in line with or surpassing other states.

Stat of the day: almost 45% of US mainland detention centres suffered rise in hazardous heat between 1982 and 2020

Prisoners are increasingly trapped in dangerously hot and humid conditions as a result of the climate emergency, with almost 45% of detention facilities on the US mainland recording a rise in dangerous heat days between 1982 and 2020, researchers have found, with those in Texas and Florida most exposed.

Don’t miss this: the musicians mining Dune for tunes

It is possible that few works of sci-fi or fantasy have been as influential musically as Dune. Since the Frank Herbert’s novel was released in 1965, countless big names, from Iron Maiden to Grimes, have written songs or entire records inspired by it. In contrast to an underwhelming first movie adaptation, “music allows endless opportunity to expand and refract Herbert’s world”, Shaad D’Souza writes.

Climate check: California’s luxe clifftop mansions in peril after record rain

After record rainfall in California, the cliffs that are home to some of the state’s most expensive real estate are eroding at a quickening pace. The cost of protecting properties will eventually be picked up by the public. It comes against a backdrop of a flurry of insurance providers in California no longer insuring new clients due to wildfire risk.

Last Thing: Cookie Monster and Ohio senator team up against shrinkflation

The Ohio Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, a leading progressive in the US Senate facing a tough fight for re-election, has thrown his weight behind a giant of American public life – the Cookie Monster.

After the Sesame Street character griped on social media about the diminishing size of his favorite snack, saying “Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller” (referring to the economic phenomenon of reducing the size of a product while keeping the price the same), Brown replied: “Me too, Cookie Monster. Big corporations shrink the size of their products without shrinking their prices, all to pay for CEO bonuses. People in my state of Ohio are fed up – they should get all the cookie they pay for.” Biden later shared the message.

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